Georgia PSC orders more solar power

The Georgia Public Service Commission ordered the state’s largest electric utility Thursday to boost its commitment to solar energy.

Commissioners voted 4-1 in a favor of a broader long-term electrical generation plan that requires Atlanta-based Georgia Power Co. to increase its solar power capacity by 525 megawatts by the end of 2016.

Of that amount, 425 megawatts would come from large “utility-scale” solar projects and 100 would come from projects small enough to be installed by individual residential or commercial property owners.

Georgia Power already is working to develop 260 megawatts of solar energy through two projects previously approved by the PSC.

But supporters of a motion by Commissioner Lauren “Bubba” McDonald to up the ante argued that recent technological advancements have brought down the costs of solar power enough to justify additional investment.

“We’ve got to approach this in a businesslike fashion and try to stay ahead of the curve,” McDonald said after the vote.

But Commissioner Stan Wise, the only member of the panel to vote against the proposal, said solar energy is still an inadequate substitute for “baseload” power generated by coal, natural gas and nuclear energy because of its intermittent nature.

He accused his fellow commissioners of putting ratepayers at risk by moving too quickly to embrace politically popular solar energy.

“You are engaged in Washington-style, feel-good energy policy … social engineering,” Wise told his colleagues. “I feel what you are about do to is both imprudent and irresponsible.”

Wise also objected to the commission’s decision to force an increase in solar capacity onto Georgia Power.

The PSC staff and company representatives agreed last month to most of the provisions in Georgia Power’s Integrated Resources Plan, including retiring 15 coal- and oil-fired generating units at five of the utility’s power plants.

But the stipulation agreement the two parties signed left resolving the solar issue up to the commission.

“If this is such a good idea, why didn’t the company propose it?” Wise said. “This is a mandate being force-fed the utility.”

McDonald bristled at the description of his motion as a “mandate” on Georgia Power.

“A mandate is [when] a company has to guarantee they will generate certain levels of renewable energy at any price by a certain date,” he said. “This is an extension of a program that is already in place.”

Before the final vote, the commission defeated an amendment by Wise to limit the capacity of any single solar project to 40 megawatts.

But commissioners agreed to appoint an independent monitor to keep an eye on the bidding process for solar projects and approved an amendment by Wise banning from consideration bids that would drive up customer rates.

Under questioning from commissioners, Kevin Greene, a lawyer with Troutman Sanders LLP who regularly represents Georgia Power before the PSC, would not take a position on the additional solar commitment.

But he said that using a competitive bidding process with commission oversight would allow additional solar projects to be built without putting “upward pressure” on customer rates.

“It’s not our proposal,” he said. “[But] we would hope to find we can make payments to solar providers that are less than we have to pay someone else.”

Environmental groups and consumer advocates praised Thursday’s vote.

“Georgia’s Public Service Commission is providing true leadership and protecting consumers,” said Colleen Kiernan, director of the state chapter of the Sierra Club. “Solar is the best bet against rising electric rates. The fuel will always be free, and you’ll never have to spend millions on environmental controls.”